Finally reached June target last night with one night to spare. Because of the rain it was a case of pulling out items from stock and working them through, though the Muscina took little time as I know the species and I obviously hadn't looked at it properly before. The Staph was a bit more tricky and I had to bite the bullet and accept that I just disagree with the key on one couplet! (I cannot see the pronotum as "bending" under no matter how much I look).

Afterwards, when I realised that the rain had stopped, a quick walk added another couple of easy ones in the moth department. Probably two other moths to come too, but better nail down the ID first.

Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Last night produced ideal conditions for moth trapping. At half light the temptation proved too much so I packed my gear up and ran a single MV on the patch until 1am. Highlights were: Shore Wainscot, 2 Acleris umbrana, European Corn-borer, 2 Ypsolopha sequella, Catoptria pinella.

Thursday, June 15, 2017

In an attempt to squeeze my target of 667 before heading off for a week or so I went for a brisk one hour romp through the coastal path with a headtorch. Last gasp n the way home I scored a surprise mammal. I was expecting it - just not yet. Also nice that it was alive!

I haven't mentioned it (because the pain is too fresh?) but this year a roe deer was BORN in my square, which I saw photos of later, and I failed to see dolphins which I heard about over the weekend. Gah! Still, there's plenty of year left and I have a low mammal target. Maybe a school of pilot whales will come to visit (again). Or even a humpback (again). Who knows?

Now at 48 species of moth, none of which have been caught in a moth trap. I have run a moth trap but it hasn't caught any species I didn't catch with a headtorch anyway.

Tuesday, June 13, 2017

I was asked a few weeks ago to lead a Durham Wildlife Trust Botany Group outing on Waldridge Fell today, so yesterday, I did a little reconnaissance and today the group and myself spent a good 3 hours in a small bit of the square. We all seemed to enjoy it but it was only was I added them all up tonight I realised I had gone past the 700 mark - a nice surprise.

No moth trapping tonight and out of the square doing my National Plant Monitoring Scheme plots tomorrow and with some survey work on Thursday I'll not be adding any more to the totals for a few days.

Had a quick bimble into Uig Woods between shifts and bumped into one of the house-keeping staff wandering through on her way towards the shop. "What's that pretty tree called?" she asked. Turning around I was amazed to see a large Laburnum in full blossom - just kinda standing there looking all obvious and stuff. How the heck have I missed seeing THAT? No leafmines on it (though hardly any leafmines on anything up here yet, apart from various flies in Rumex/Ranunculus/Urtica, most of which I'm unsure of) but it's new to the tally.

Subtle as a brick - yet I've missed it until now!

Number 700 was Shepherd's Purse in an overgrown layby with Corn-spurrey all around. Finally, on my way back out of the woods, I spotted this very distinctive looking sedge

Looks distinctive enough even for me to ID

This is Remote Sedge and a lifer for me. Checking the BSBI map it isn't known from the top end of Skye so I've emailed the local recorder the details.

Monday, June 12, 2017

Not the best pic in the world as I couldn't see the screen for glare. Tree Bumblebee is a recent colonist and not many records in Fife - no records apparent on NBN, though I know it's in a friend's nestbox in his garden and is not uncommon in the town.

Most of the other stuff isn't very interesting photo-wise, but here are the latest numbers:

Sunday, June 11, 2017

As part of the madness that is PSL, yesterday I took part in Graeme Lyons' daft idea of a 24 hour megablitz event. Despite some fairly crappy weather (I never even swung my net once. Not once!) I managed to record 462 species. Then I realised I'd misread my own handwriting and skipped from 240 straight to 247 (my 0 in 240 looked like a 6, what can I say..) so the revised tally for the 24 hour period is 456. I also managed to record Flid Vole, whatever that is. I still have loads of dead stuff to key through so the tally will eventually rise, though Graeme's Rules state that any ID work needs to be completed on the day so they won't make it onto the tally even when I do identify them.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Before all that I added 30 species from my last update on 30th May. Lifers were a couple of Cantharis soldier beetles, three flies (a Doli, a feverfly and a leaf-mining larva), an exciting Psyllid and Spear Thistle Lacebug which was noted whilst strimming. I always carry pots now, no matter where I may be.

Dolichopus popularis. I'd be popularis too with a genital package as large as that

Craspedolepta nebulosa - a Psyllid new to Scotland!!!

Excited with my 'new to Scotland' psyllid I contacted the local recorder who went out and also found it on Rosebay Willowherb. He told his hemiptera chap who said it's all over the place now, just that the maps haven't been updated in a while. Buggerit.

Back to 10th June, the Big Day. I won't list all the new additions coz it'll be a long, long list. Essentially I added plenty of plants, a few moths, a few beetles, Noctule Bat, Blue Jellyfish, a coupla flies and other assorted oddities. Managed a grand total of ELEVEN lifers which was very pleasing.

10th June at 0000hrs - time to start....

Species Number 2 (0003hrs) - Pale-shouldered Brocade - Lifer!

Dawn at 0430 with a rainbow overhead

Flid Vole, if the rain-splattered scrawl in my notebook is to be believed

Number 456 of the day: Map-winged Swift on the wall at 2354hrs.

All of that puts me up to 698 species, a tidy jump. Hoping to be 3/4 of the way there by month's end.

Thursday, June 8, 2017

Who needs a moth trap when you have a head torch, a net, and warm still weather? The missus went to sleep early so I went for an impromptu half hour walk around the square, which turned out a cracking list of lovely creatures. Bizarrely the addition of Foxglove Pug prompted me to notice I hadn't recorded Foxglove, which has been in flower for a good while now!

Still, it looks like I'm back into the tight tete-de-la-course. Until Christian declares 1000 next week, that is ...

After several days of wind and rain the list continues. Even the moth trap would have been a waste of time.

The highlight, nothing mega, only Bee Orchid. But the two puny specimens are a first for the monad and in a small area I regularly check for Dingy Skippers so there's no way I will have overlooked them in previous years. Also the, (my) pair of Stonechats have fledged two young

One of two pathetic specimens of Bee Orchid - but a first for the square

.

A pleasant day despite the wind and armed with my pooter I did my first real bit of 'hoverating' on the Hogweed.

Friday, June 2, 2017

Been back out on the patch and again concentrating mainly on the flies. It's starting to be a diptera patch year list at the moment with total of 131 as of today. This mornings highlights were Lipara lucens and an interesting Melieria which might turn out to be M.cana. Earlier this week I had two lifers from the car park puddle; Canace nasica and Parydra coarctata and a very nice Tachinid that was in fact a Sarcophagid Pierretia nigriventris.
Butterflies are on the up with Painted Lady the most recent addition. Last years unauthorised re-introduction of Glanville Fritillary looks to have been unsuccessful so far. Even if some do emerge I don't think I will count them.
Still not run the moth trap but numbers are racking up slowly but surely. I potted an interesting micro that could be Chrysoesthia sexguttella. Waiting for the guru David Agassiz to get back to me on that one. Be a nice lifer for me if it is.

I was hoping to break the 600 barrier for the square by the end of May but missed out by just a few. It's been very busy since I got back (as May and June usually is) and with botanising outside the square quite a bit, I've have had little time to do updates but I think I've just about caught up.

It's nice that the invertebrates are beginning to show and I need to put an effort in this month to get some more and hopefully some new ones. The same goes to get the 130 or so more plants that I still need and know they should be around if I look hard enough.

The moth trap is beginning to come into its own now and looking at the overnight catch (which I haven't checked yet and just covered it over as it's stotting down) I reckon I should have hit the 600 mark. I can see two new ones for the year just looking through the funnel.

So here's where I am /was at the end of May

So let flaming June begin .... once it's stopped raining. I'm off now going to make a cuppa and check a few pots of creepy-crawlies thats in the fridge.